Railway tie plate



April 13, 1954 P. ALLEN RAILWAY TIE PLATE Filed June 7, 1950 L INVENTOR WRENCE P ALLEN BY CLQAAM ATTORNEY il Patented Apr. 13, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT F F I CE 675,180 RAILWAY PLATE` LawrenceiPl llen, Needham,Mass. Applicatie .time 'l1-1950, seriarNmfiaa 7` claims; (c1, 23e-299') lll The present invention relates to-` railwaytie plates in general, and moreparticularlytoa new and improved tie platecons`truction which great- 1yprolongs the useful life of thel railway-t'ies with which i1; is used,. and reduces tie maintenance costs.

One'of the most important items of railway maintenance cost is the annual tie* renewal dost. Considering the' high` average renewal cost per tie, installed, andthe millions of ties which requirerenewal:-yearly,,` the importance 0f any' appreciable increase in.` useful tedi-fe., even from the standpoint of economy alone, will be readilyappreciated. rihe present. inventicnis` of particular importance from,` the Vforegoing standpoint.

They various tie` plates' currently in common use haver a seriousi drawback insofar as concerns theirl abrading and cutting. andfwearing effect on the wooden ties on which they rest, whichefect has' always been a Vmajor 4factor limiting `useful tie life. These tie plates are ordinarily of rectangular form, are sharplycornered, andinclude a horizontal under surface bordered Lby andi abruptly terminating inV substantially vertical' end and side wallsextendingacross the full height or thickness of the fplatemetal. This rather abrupt change-in `plate conlguration` from the-horizon-^ tal tothel vertical,` frequently accompanied-.by the presence Aof generally sharp corners vandedges, enables theplates under theI severe-pound-` ing actionl of the passing wheel-trucks"ortherail traic readily to settle down into the surfaces of the ties, digging for themselves` correspondingly shaped recesses or pockets in those` surfaces; pockets edgedby severed, frayed` 'and crushed woodbers.

The problem. is complicated by the-Well-knownf verticalwaveemction setup in thesupportedrailsY under the influence of thespassing heavilyfloaded wheel-trucks. which wave-motion causes -ther tie plate to move vertically downwardly and upward ly eachrtime a wheel truck passes.

Whenthe track isloriginally installed, the base ofl the rails is heldvrmly to the tie plate and the latter isheld rmly tol `the -tie by the headedV spikes driven throughthe tieplateholesdnto'the However,` as the: new pIatecuts itsi way andsettlesdowninto theupper surface ofthe wooden tie underv trafc conditions/asaforesaidthe heads ofthe spikes,v which do notmovedowrwvardly` with the plate, are leftv projecting andfspaced abovev the plate, and thus: freeing th'ey plate for vertical and even .lateral f movement underthi'ef 55 flow of traffirn encyA underload to 2, plates have a, distinct tendv move sideways (i. e. in the longitudinal direction `of the ties) not only on straight sections ontrack, but particularly on curved sections, and with the plates beingzembedded inv pockets-in the wood, the vertical end walls thereof, which the sharply bent or severed 4ends 'of the Wood bers 'come into repeated contact therewith furtherfraying and chipping and abradingfthe wood, enlarging the pocketsv andfurther exposing the tieA t0: the penetration off moisture;` grit and the likes" The loosened tie 'The pockets or recesses gougedV or pressed into thef'tiesurfacesby the settlement oftheftie plates asaf'ore'said also tendito' collectthe'mcisturegdust, grit and the other;v substances common tdexp'osec roadbeds. As a result, the: intermittent movementA of, the* tie: plate under'the'rail waveemotion sets up a pumping action which causestheA pocketed dust, grit, and' moisture. tofpenetrate the tie through the frayed, crushed or cut fibers; thus hasteningctierot, further mechanically abrades the `tie surface4 and indeed. wears down the spike portionswhicli extend through Athe plate holes and hastens the eorrosionthereo.

All-of these-undesirable effects become progressively worsef with the'passage of time, and before long);expensivefandtimeiconsuming track repairs must befundertak'en in the interests` of safety.

@nent the: common measures takerr to'restore damaged track is to relevel `the'plate-lbearing tie surfaces byadzin'g the ties in' situ, thereby providing new butflcwer seats for the plates. process-is; howeveiyrather costly, involving asit does substantial'labor and` machine charges, and

the` `withdrawal` of tracksecticns fromy active use y forsubstantial periods-of time Y In-l the-usual adzing operation, the `crew pulls out the oldfspikes, removes the rails and tie plates, and `plugs the old spike holes with wood. At the same time, the level of the rock ballast between ties inthe line of tie plates has` to be lowered' by excavation suflcientl'y to accommodate* theadz'ing machine and provide` working clearance therefor.4 The adzin'g machine is then passed severaltimes over the abra'ded andpccke; cutting'iawaythe splintered andt clipped* wood toA ferm fresh but lower wood surfaces for seating the: tie pla-tes;

In l the interests of" levelnes'sofjrails essential for4 goed track, all.A theftie's" have: to be cut dawn unifoimly'ftd-anewlower: level establisnedlforthe da'malgeg `and-'tl'iisinvolves otherwise unnecessary arein abutting relation to' This It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple but durable tie plate construction which will greatly prolong useful tie life by reducing mechanical wear on the ties, which will hold abrasion and cutting of wood fibers down to a minimum, which will greatly simplify and reduce track maintenance by requiring far less fren quent adzing operations, and even none ai; all, which will progressively resist tie penetration to an ever increasing degree, which can respond readily vertically and laterally to rail movement without damaging the tie, which cbviates the formation of moisture and dust-trapping pockets in the tie surfaces, which will safeguard the ties, which eliminates any need for special pads hetween the plates and ties, which can be'readily and easily applied to normal wooden ties without special pre-cutting of those ties, which has great structural strength and will not fail under prolonged use, and which is yet quite economical and simple to produce.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention in one of its aspectsmay con-v sist of a tie-plate of thickness the same or less than that of the usual tie-plate and having an elevated and shouldered upper surface for receiving dashed-dotted lines, and the spikes being omitted for purposes of clarity.

Fig. 2 represents, on a somewhat smaller scale, an end elevational view of the tie plate shown in Fig. i, looking at the left-hand end thereof.

Fig. 3 represents a similar side elevational view, looking at the right hand side of the tie plate, but this time showing the spikes and rail.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the tie plate shown in Fig. 1, taken on line 4 4 of that figure looking in the direction of the arrows, but drawn to a smaller scale.

Fig. 5 is a similar longitudinal sectional View,

l taken on line 5-5 of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The tie plate selected for illustration in the accompanying drawings as an illustrative embodithe base of the rail and a flat under surface wide 7' enough to extend across the full width of the tie size with which it will be associated, said dat under surface at its end regions merging gradually into a pair of gently upwardly curved end margins which extend outwardly and upwardly to a level well above the height of the plate metal adjacent said margins, and said flat under surface atits side regions merging gradually intol a pair of gently downwardly curved side margins' which extend downwardly and outwardly and terminate in edge portions spaced a relatively substantial distance outwardly from the side walls of the tie and at a level appreciably below said flat under surface, said upwardly and outwardly curved end margins and said downwardly and outwardly curved side margins being integral with said plate and merging with each other smoothly andgradually at the corners of said tie plate.

The present invention may be embodied in other speciiic forms without departing from the spirit of essentional attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, reference Vbeing had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the'invention.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of a tie plate constituting an illustrative embodimentof the invention, shown seated on a wooden tie; portions of the plate being broken away to revealy constructional features, anda fragment of the. rail supported by said plate being indicated in vment of the present invention comprises a single plate` I0 preferably madeA of steel and specially formed and shaped to have the configuration shown in the drawings.

The plate Illmay have a smooth and flat undersurface II of generally rectangular shape of width at least as great as the width of the wooden tie I2 with which the plate is to be used, and of sufficient area to keep the unit-area loading from exceeding thesafe maximum of the wooden tie I2.. .The en'dvregions'of undersurface II merge smoothlyand gradually into a pair of upwardlyv curved end margins 4 which extend outwardly and upwardly to an appreciable extent, preferably to a level well above the upper surface I5 of the adjacent plate 'metaL The side regions of the plate undersurface II, on the other hand, merge smoothly and gradually into a pair of downwardly `curved side margins i6 extending downwardly and outwardly and terminating in edge portions I'I spaced a relatively substantial distance outwardly from the side walls of the tie I2, and appreciably below the level of the flat undersurface II. The arcs or curvatures of curves i6 and I4, however, are preferably less than 90.

Both the upwardly-curved end margins I4 and the downwardly curved side margins-I6 merge smoothly and'gradually into each other at the corner portions I8 of the tie plate I2; and if desired, those corner portions may be rounded as shown in Fig. 1. The curved margins I4 and IG may be of uniform thickness from base to tip, or they may taper in thickness as shown in the drawings. i Y

The upper surface of the plat la includes a slightly elevated substantially flat rectangular region I9, designed to receive and support the base of the rail I3, bordered by a pair of opposed parallel vertical shoulders 20 spaced to embrace the base of the rail and prevent relative sidewise displacement of tie plate and rail. The plate metal leading up to the rail-engaging shoulders 2U may be gradually curved as shown at 2 I. The rail-supporting upper surface I9 may be slightly canted with respect to the plate undersurface I I,

and may beslightly offset in the longitudinal direction of the plate from the plate vertical centerline, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 5, so as to provide the slight inclination and eccentricity ordinarily desired in railway tie-plates.

Any suitable number and types of spike-holes may be provided in the plate, as for example the pair of staggered square holes 22 at the edges of the rail-seat I9, designed tofreceive the square rail kspike's 23A the headsA of whichwill overhang and hold down the base of the rail I3, 'and the pair of oppositely-staggered round holes 24 located closer to the plate ends .and designed to receive screw-spikes 2.5L

An example ofa specihc tie plate constructed in accordance with. the present invention, and suitable for use betweenwooden ties 9" wide and a rail having a 6%. wide base, is as follows.V The plate may be 10% wide, and 15 long. edge. to

edge;V the margins may taper in thicknessfrom 3/8`, at their base to life" at their tip; 4the uppermost edges. of the upwardly-curved end margins may extend -i above the upper level of the adjacent plate metal and the lowermost. edges of. the downwardly-curved= side margins may extend l/g-f' below the top surface oi' the tie andmaybe spaced 578" awa-y from the side walls` thereof..

It will be observed that by virtue ofthe smooth operating conditions will perform its intended rail-securing and load-transmitting `functions withouttending to` gougeintofor embeditself in or splinter or otherwise damage or abradethe wooden tie on whichit rests..

On thecontrary, the tieplate of the present. in-

vention, under long continued use, will tend-to compact the woodilbersof. the tie without cutting them, and make the woody in the critical underplateregiondenser, if anything, thus better suit.-

ing the tie for its load-bearing purpose.

The gently curvedends |11- of the tie-plate assure minimum alteration and most gradual change of direction in. the wood bers. at the plate margins, thus permitting the slight plate settlement that does occur under actual loading to take place without accompanying rupture or splitting of wood fibers. Moreover, it will be noted that as the'plate settles down` into the upper surface of the tie, the sizeof contact area between plate and tie increases owing, to the presence of the upwardly curved end margins which gradually come, incontact with more and more woodV surface asV settlement progresses.

This results ina `gradual decrease in. unit-areal loading asV plate-settlement increases, which of course is highly desirable, for this increased resistance to settlement which accompanies progressive settlement tends to stabilize the system and.A prevent further settling.

The absence of abrupt changes in coniguration from horizontal to vertical alongthe margins of the wood-contacting regions. of the plate also eliminates the formation of. dirt, grit andmoisture-trapping pockets. in, the .tie surfaces; thus appreciably prolonging the usefultie life.

The downwardly extending side margins I6 which stand away from the; tie side wallsalso serve to shield the plate-tie contact area against the entry of grit, dust, stone particles and the like which are usually swept into the air and follow fast-moving rail traino. This serves to prolong the life of the ties and also of the tie plates.

Furthermore, because of the smoothly and gradually curved nature of the marginal regions of the wood-engaging surface of the tie plate,

limited lateral movement of tie plate relative to tie, both in the longitudinal direction of the tie as well as in the longitudinal direction of the rail, such as is believed to be a necessary adjunct to the passage of rail trahie, can take place withame-01 out. damaging. orabrading-the tie or breaking.

or cutting` 4the woodi'bers thereof.

Theupturned ends andl dcwnturned'sides ofthel integral plate also greatlyincrease the struc.'n tural strength of the plate through` the double channel-type form they'impart to the plate, being equivalent to two perpendicularly yrelated channels placed back-to-back andV having their' backs formed integrally with each other. This. feature enablesfthe plate of. the present inven-v tion to be constructed ofA thinner metal'. than that ordinarily used for tie plates and' yet.` provide a,

structure ofthe same or even greater strength.`

Furthermore, because of" the double curvature at the corner regions. of the. tie plate of". the present` invention, vthose stronger than inthe usual tie plates,.and this is of special importance since the tie-plates are usually vulnerableto fracture at these. corner regions.

The presentY invention may be embodied' in other specic forms without departing fromfthe spirit` or essential' attributes thereof,r and. it. is

therefore desired that the present embodimentbe considered in all respects as illustrative and. not

restrictive, reference being` had to the appended claimsv rather than to the foregoing description to indicate.A theiscope of the invention. u l

Having thus described theinvention, whatis hereby claimed as new and desired to be securedV by Letters Patent is: w

1. In combination with aunitary wooden rail-- way tie of predetermined width havingrasubstan.-

tially hat top surface andvgenerallyvertical sides,

a generally rectangularly-shaped metaltie-plate ing outwardly and upwardly tota level` well above the top or the tie andatleast as high as that-of the-elevated rail-receiving surface, andV said flat lower `sur-face havingl opposite side regions merging gradually and'smoothly into-a pair of` gently downwardly curved side margins, of lessfthanA 9.0@ curvature, extending outwardly andldown-l- Wardly and terminating in edge-portions spaced an appreciable. distance outwardly away from the vertical sidesv of said tie and downwardly from saidilat lower surface, ther curved end. andside margins. being integral with. said plate and. with each other, and smoothly andgradually merginginto each other at the corner regions of said rectangularly-shaped plate..

2. In combination with a unitary wooden railway tie of predetermined width having a substantially flat top andV generally verticalsides, a.

generally rectangularly-shaped metal tie-plate having an elevated and shouldered upper surface for receiving the base of a rail and a flat generally rectangular lower surface at least as wide as the width of the aforesaid tie seated on the top of said tie, said flat lower surface having opposite end regions merging gradually and smoothly into a pair of gently upwardly curved end margins extending outwardly and upwardly to a level well above the top of the tie and higher than the height of the plate metal adjacent said margins, and said flat lower surface having opposite side regions merging gradually and smoothly corners are muchV tially flat top and generally vertical sides, av

metal tie-plate having an upper surface adapted to receive and support the base of a rail and a generally rectangularly-shaped nat lower tiecontacting surface seated on the top of said tie, said lower surface being bordered by two gently curved pairs of marginal regions, one pair being gently curved upwardly and the other pair being gently curved downwardly, each pair extending a relatively substantial distance outwardly from the area of surface contact between the tie-plate and tie and terminating in edge portions spaced vertically an appreciable distance away from the top of the tie, the downwardly curved pair of marginal regions standing away from and clear of the vertical sides of the tie in juxtaposed relation thereto, and all of said marginal regions merging smoothly and gradually with said flat lower tie-contacting surface to provide a plate undersurface devoid of any abrupt changes in surface configuration, thereby to minimize plateinduced tie damage under actual operating conditions.

4. In combination with a unitary wooden railn way tie of predetermined width having a substantially fiat top and generally vertical sides, a metal tie-plate having an elevated and shouldered upper surface for receiving the base of a rail, a flat lower surface at least as wide as the width of the aforesaid tie seated on the top of said tie, said flat lower surface having opposite end regions merging gradually and smoothly into a pair of gently upwardly curved'end margins, of less than 90 curvature, overhanging the surface of said tie and extending outwardly and upwardly to a level well above the top of the tie and at least as high as that of the elevated railreceiving surface, said margins being integral with said plate, and downwardly extending side portions bordering said flat lower surface and spaced apart a distance appreciably greater than the tie width thereby to stand away from and straddle the vertical sides of said tie with ample clearance, said side portions being integral with said plate and with said upwardly curved plate end margins.

5. For use in combination with a unitary wooden railway tie of predetermined width having a substantially flat top and generally vertical sides, a railway tie-plate having an elevated and shouldered upper surface for receiving the base of a rail and a flat lower tie-contacting surface adapted to be seated on the top of said tie, said iiat lower surface having end regions which merge gradually and smoothly into a pair of gently upwardly curved end margins, of less than 90 curvature, extending outwardly and upwardly to a level well above the flat lower surface and at least as high as that of the elevated rail-receiving surface, said end margins being integral with said plate, and said tie-plate having side margins spaced from and out of contact with the tie sides, Whereby the surface contact area between tie-plate and tie will increase appreciably as the tie plate settles itself into the top surface of said tie, thereby to resist such settlement to a progressively increasing degree continuously throughout the course of such settlement.

I6. In combination with a wooden railway tie having a top surface and generally vertical sides, a unitary tie-plate having an elevated and shouldered upper surface for receiving the base of a rail and a lower tie-contacting surface seated on the top surface of said tie, a pair of gently upwardly and outwardly curved end margins having lower surfaces of less than 90 curvature merging gradually and smoothly into the end regions of the tie-contacting surface of said plate, said margins extending upwardly to a level well above the top surface of the tie and at least as high as that of the elevated rail-receiving surface of the plate and outwardly for an appreciable distance beyond the area of surface contact between the plate and the tie, said margins being integral with said plate.

7. In combination with a wooden railway tie of predetermined width having top and side surfaces, a unitary tie-plate having an elevated and shouldered upper surface for receiving the base of a rail and a lower tie-contacting surface at least as wide as the width of said tie seated on the top surface of said tie, and including a pair of gently downwardly curved side margins of less than 90 curvature merging gradually and smoothly into the side regions of said lower surface, said margins extending downwardly and outwardly and terminating in edge portions spaced an appreciable distance outwardly away from the side surfaces of said tie and downwardly from the area of surface contact between tieplate and tie, said margins being integral with said plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Rushing Mar. 18, 1941 

